Rent Meet John Doe (1941)
3.6 of 5 from 88 ratings
2h 3min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Written by a discharged journalist as a publicity stunt, and as a parting shot at the paper's new editor, the premise of the letter unexpectedly fires the imagination of the Bulletin's readers and the wider American public. Its real author, Ann Mitchell (Barbara Stanwyck) who has fabricated the letter in her final column, is rehired, and now needs to find someone to play the part of the fictional "John Doe." Gary Cooper is perfectly cast as Long John Willoughby, an injured and penniless former baseball pitcher lured into impersonating "John Doe" with the promise of medical treatment. In what would have undoubtedly been an Oscar winning performance, were it not for his own success that same year in Howard Hawks' "Sergeant York," Cooper excels himself here as Willoughby's initial indifference to his undertaking turns to genuine concern at his role. But, as he becomes an increasingly culpable pawn in an ever more treacherous game, just how can "John Doe" redeem himself? - Actors:
- Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward Arnold, Walter Brennan, Spring Byington, James Gleason, Gene Lockhart, Rod La Rocque, Irving Bacon, Regis Toomey, J. Farrell MacDonald, Warren Hymer, Harry Holman, Andrew Tombes, Pierre Watkin, Stanley Andrews, Mitchell Lewis, Charles C. Wilson, Vaughan Glaser, Sterling Holloway
- Directors:
- Frank Capra
- Writers:
- Richard Connell, Robert Presnell Sr.
- Others:
- Robert Presnell
- Studio:
- Sanctuary
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Films to Watch if You Like It's a Wonderful Life, Films to Watch If You Like..., Introducing the Thesping Olympians, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Frank Capra, The Instant Expert's Guide to Todd Haynes, Top 10 Titles About the Golden Age of Radio, Top 10 World Cinema Remakes, Top Films, What to Watch Next If You Liked Nomadland
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Reviews (3) of Meet John Doe
Great film - poor quality disc - Meet John Doe review by lg
Meet John Doe is a classic, but CP's version is very poor quality, which is a hazard with films of this era. The worst culprits among distributors of ELSTREE films, which are terrible quality. Frank Capra films deserve the best quality discs and these can be found out there.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.
Great Fun - Meet John Doe review by Other Worlds
A whip smart movie and a lot of fun. Only spoiled by a truly awful video transfer. I know restoring these movies can be expensive but if they could have spent more time finding a better quality source the results would have been so much better. The movie deserved better than this.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Comedy Drama. - Meet John Doe review by Steve
By '41, Hollywood was making films about the threat of Nazis in Germany. But no director was more alert to the menace of fascism at home than Frank Capra. Pressure groups pushed to enter the war on the side of Hitler and Mussolini, with the public made receptive by the depression. He touched on this in '39, with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
This time, Capra and screenwriter Robert Riskin, confront the danger of authoritarianism more directly. An unemployed deadbeat (Gary Cooper) is co-opted by a tabloid newshound (Barbara Stanwyck) as an authentic voice of the American people. But both are exploited by a megalomaniacal industrialist/media mogul (Edward Arnold).
And he intends to be the iron hand he claims the masses need. The film has stature because of its historical significance, but it is flawed. The script is longwinded and Capra directs without subtlety. The veneer of comedy is contrived. Cooper is fine, but Stanwyck's histrionics don't distract from implausible plot complications.
Five different endings were shot, which betrays its lack of clarity, yet censorship prevented the only one that would have worked. Sentimentality is a feature of Capra's style, but here it just dilutes the medicine. He has to leave his audience with hope; but fascism would be defeated with tanks and blood, not John Doe clubs.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.